OBITUARIKs, A M KHICAN. (PRATT PRATT.) 





:in.l secp-taM "i the National Wool Growcra' 

 lion. 



Pratt, Chariot, philanthropist, l><>ni in Watortown, 

 . died in Nc\v York city, Muv 4, 

 \\ lu-ii but ten years of age In- left' homo to 

 \\"i-k mi u t'anii in his 



native tf'WII, Where 



In- remained iilmiit 

 throe \ciirs. uttcinl 

 ing school u few 

 months during tlic 

 winter. lit; then 

 spent a year in Bos- 

 t<m as clerk in a gro 

 eery, at the end of 

 willed time lie began 



to learn (lie machin- 

 ist's trade, which he 



afteruanlfollosvrdin 

 I ton. At the age 



offliritteenhaenttnd 



NVrslev an Aca<lciny. 

 Wilbraham. Here 



lie boarded himself. 



struggling i" every 

 way to tret an edu- 

 cation. Till' year spent here Completed his school 

 life, On leaving the academy he entered the em- 

 ploy of a paint and oil tinn in Boston, and while 



here lie became much illtere.sted in the Mercantile 

 Library; and his connection with this, and later with 

 the Mercantile Library in New York, had a marked 

 influence upon him. In 1851 he went to New York 

 as clerk for Messrs. Scheiick it Downing, who were 

 in the oil, paint, and glass business, and for twenty- 

 thc v cars lie continued at tlie same place, but not in 

 the capacity of clerk, for in ls.">i he. with two others, 

 bought the' paint and oil part of the concern. In 1867 

 his tinn was dissolved, the oil portion of the hi. 

 coming into the hands of Charles Pratt fc Co. Mr. 

 I'ratt wa> among the first to jiereeive the possibilities 

 of the petroleum trade \\heii it began to be developed 

 in the Pennsylvania oil fields in 1NUO, and lie early 

 diluted 1'imselt to ilie refining of the crude product, 

 endeavoring to put upon the market the best grade 

 of oil ; to this he attached his own name, and Pratt's 

 astral oil became known the world over. He was 

 also an ollicer ot the Standard Oil < 'ompaiiy, and was 

 interested ill many other business enterpr'iM^. As 

 his fortune increased, his scn.se of responsibility for 

 the use of his riches increased also, and he gave lib- 

 erally and discriminatingly to religious, educational, 

 and charitable causes, not only in Brooklyn, which 

 was for many years his homo, but throughout the 

 country. He contributed nearly half the cost of 

 the Kmmamicl Baptist "'huivh of Brooklyn, of which 

 he was a member. Although denied the advantages 

 ot extended school education, he appreciated keenly 

 its importance, and was a life-long friend of education. 

 For nearly twenty-live years he was a trustee, and 

 during most of this period President of the Board of 

 Trustees fit' the Adclphi Academy, Brooklyn, con- 

 tributing at different times $200,000 for its use. But 

 while greatly interested in existing institutions, he 

 came to feel that they did not meet the requirements 

 ot that large class of young people who wish to fit 

 themselves fur usefulness among the world's workers. 

 According, after mature thought and thorough 

 study ot KOtOOla at home and abroad, he determined 

 to establish an institution that should embody his 

 ideas, and Pratt Institute by which its founder will 

 always be best known to the world came into ,-MM 

 ence. The charter for this was granted in l*s<>, and 

 in the autumn of 1887 the buildings were so tar com- 

 pleted that class work was begun. As Mr. Pratt in- 

 corporated into the institute so much of himself, a 

 brief statement of its aims and scope forms an essen- 

 tial part of a sketch of his life. The institute is 

 founded upon an appreciation of the dignity and 

 value of skilled manual labor, and aims to gfvo its 

 students harmonious and complete development by 



the training of eye, hand, mid mind. T) . . 



the institute if ilolic ill the following dopartm. litr : 



The library, covering the general field ot literature, 

 though cH|H.-ciully utroiig in urt. Mtattifio, and ' 



eal book* which are ot direct use in the vari-. 

 partmonts; the privilege* <>f the library ale : 

 all residents of Brooklyn. The technical high-wlu*.! 

 department giving a high-school or academic edm-a 

 tinn, which is made !> include drawing and gradi-d 

 courses in manual work. The art department, with 

 classes in free hand, mechanical, and architectural 

 drawing, design, clay modeling, wood carving, life 

 work; also clas-i ^ tor the training of teacher-. The 

 department of domestic science, giving instruction in 

 sewing, dress-making, millinery, hygiene, and home 

 nursing, cooking, laundering, household economy, an 

 well as special instruction tor those wishing 

 come teachers of cooking. The department of com 

 merce, which includes phonography . t\ IN- writing. 

 arithmc-tic, hook-keeping, Knglish, , k punish. commer- 

 cial geography, and commercial law. The department 

 of mechanic arts, otlering courses in carpentry, WINK! 

 turning, pattern making, metal spinning, foundry 

 practice, forging, machine-shop work, plastering, 

 plumbing, painting, electrical construction, steam, 

 strellth ot' materials, etc. The music department, 

 aiming to give to all classes fit' people, through the 

 medium of the tonic sol-fa notation, ability to sing 

 correctly and undcrstaiidingly. The technical mu- 

 seum, containing choice collections of l-otterv, glass- 

 ware, and textile fabrics, also many collections of ob- 

 jects arranged to show the steps in the process of 

 manufacture from the crude material to the finished 

 IIP .duct The Thrift, combining the featuresof an in- 

 stitution of saving and of a building-and-loan associ- 

 ation. l>i verse as the work of these departments ap- 

 pears, a single purpose pervades them all to fit those 

 who avail themselves of the opjiortunities offered to 

 become self-respecting, honest, thrifty, and intelli- 

 gent citizens. The institute began its work in the 

 autumn of issT with a single class of twelve students; 

 at the time of the founder's death about 3.000 were 

 enrolled, not including the several thousands who 

 were members of the librarv. In addition to the am- 

 ple buildings with their splendid equipment, and the 

 grounds, Mr. Pratt gave \ the institute a large en 

 dowment in the shape ot "the Astral." an enormous 

 model tenement house, and other buildings, the in- 

 come from which is to be used for the benefit of the 

 school, and at his death he left a further endowment 

 of 18,000.000. Mr. Pratt, although emphatically a 

 public-spirited citi/en. declined to hold public office- 

 lie was a member of numerous clubs and other or- 

 ganizations, spending, however, only so much time 

 with them as wa> ncce.-sarv for a proper discharge of 

 his duties, preferring that BOOM life in which he W;L- 

 especially happy, lie was twice married, leaving at 

 his death a widow, two daughters, and six sons. The 

 foundation of his large fortune estimated at $'20,- 

 000,000 was laid while he was young, in tin- 1 

 fit juirjxise, frugality, fidelity to trust.-, and untiring 

 energy that always eharactcri/cd him as much as did 

 his, kindliness and interest in others' welfare. The 

 sentiment that he uttered at the Founder's Pay cele- 

 bration rvf Pratt Institute, a few months before his 

 death, " The giving that counts is the giving of one's 



Self," well expressed ..lie o! the controlling beliefs of 

 Ills life. 



Pratt, Thomas Tart, physician, bom in Mobile, Ala., 

 in ls;;:; died in London. F.ngland. Aug. _".'. 1 >'.'!. 

 lb i. reived his medical education in New York city, 

 served with the Confederate army during the civil 

 war. and after the war settled in Paris ami became 

 assistant to lr. .lames Marion Sims, whoso daughter 

 he subsequently married. On the death of l>r. Sims 

 he took sole charge of his practice. Ihiriiur the 

 Franc.. -(iermaii War he wa.- tirst aasistai ' 

 the American Ambulance Corps, and for his service 

 to the wounded of both armies he was decorated with 

 the ero.-s of the Legion of Honor by President Thiere 

 and with the Iron Cr,. ! v bpperor William. He 



